diff --git a/boot.php b/boot.php
index ed4fe10a3a..05588b8d2c 100644
--- a/boot.php
+++ b/boot.php
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ define ( 'FRIENDICA_PLATFORM',     'Friendica');
 define ( 'FRIENDICA_CODENAME',     'Asparagus');
 define ( 'FRIENDICA_VERSION',      '3.5.2-dev' );
 define ( 'DFRN_PROTOCOL_VERSION',  '2.23'    );
-define ( 'DB_UPDATE_VERSION',      1217      );
+define ( 'DB_UPDATE_VERSION',      1218      );
 
 /**
  * @brief Constant with a HTML line break.
diff --git a/database.sql b/database.sql
index 9d56957100..af33d1697b 100644
--- a/database.sql
+++ b/database.sql
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 -- ------------------------------------------
 -- Friendica 3.5.2-dev (Asparagus)
--- DB_UPDATE_VERSION 1215
+-- DB_UPDATE_VERSION 1218
 -- ------------------------------------------
 
 
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `addon` (
 	`plugin_admin` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `name` (`name`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE attach
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `attach` (
 	`deny_cid` mediumtext,
 	`deny_gid` mediumtext,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE auth_codes
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `auth_codes` (
 	`expires` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`scope` varchar(250) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE cache
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `cache` (
 	`updated` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`k`),
 	 INDEX `expire_mode_updated` (`expire_mode`,`updated`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE challenge
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `challenge` (
 	`type` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	`last_update` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE clients
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `clients` (
 	`icon` text,
 	`uid` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`client_id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE config
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `config` (
 	`v` mediumtext,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `cat_k` (`cat`,`k`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE contact
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `contact` (
 	 INDEX `nick_uid` (`nick`(32),`uid`),
 	 INDEX `dfrn-id` (`dfrn-id`),
 	 INDEX `issued-id` (`issued-id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE conv
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `conv` (
 	`subject` text,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid` (`uid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE event
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `event` (
 	`deny_gid` mediumtext,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid_start` (`uid`,`start`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE fcontact
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `fcontact` (
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `addr` (`addr`(32)),
 	 INDEX `url` (`url`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE ffinder
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `ffinder` (
 	`cid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`fid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE fserver
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `fserver` (
 	`key` text,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `server` (`server`(32))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE fsuggest
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `fsuggest` (
 	`note` text,
 	`created` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE gcign
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `gcign` (
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid` (`uid`),
 	 INDEX `gcid` (`gcid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE gcontact
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `gcontact` (
 	 INDEX `addr` (`addr`(64)),
 	 INDEX `hide_network_updated` (`hide`,`network`,`updated`),
 	 INDEX `updated` (`updated`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE glink
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `glink` (
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `cid_uid_gcid_zcid` (`cid`,`uid`,`gcid`,`zcid`),
 	 INDEX `gcid` (`gcid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE group
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `group` (
 	`name` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid` (`uid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE group_member
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `group_member` (
 	 INDEX `contactid` (`contact-id`),
 	 INDEX `gid_contactid` (`gid`,`contact-id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `uid_gid_contactid` (`uid`,`gid`,`contact-id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE gserver
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `gserver` (
 	`last_failure` datetime DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `nurl` (`nurl`(32))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE hook
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `hook` (
 	`priority` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `hook_file_function` (`hook`(50),`file`(80),`function`(60))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE intro
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `intro` (
 	`blocked` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,
 	`ignore` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE item
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `item` (
 	 INDEX `uid_eventid` (`uid`,`event-id`),
 	 INDEX `uid_authorlink` (`uid`,`author-link`),
 	 INDEX `uid_ownerlink` (`uid`,`owner-link`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE item_id
@@ -555,7 +555,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `item_id` (
 	 INDEX `sid` (`sid`),
 	 INDEX `service` (`service`(32)),
 	 INDEX `iid` (`iid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE locks
@@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `locks` (
 	`locked` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`created` datetime DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE mail
@@ -594,7 +594,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `mail` (
 	 INDEX `convid` (`convid`),
 	 INDEX `uri` (`uri`(64)),
 	 INDEX `parent-uri` (`parent-uri`(64))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE mailacct
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `mailacct` (
 	`pubmail` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`last_check` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE manage
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `manage` (
 	`mid` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `uid_mid` (`uid`,`mid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE notify
@@ -653,7 +653,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `notify` (
 	 INDEX `seen_uid_date` (`seen`,`uid`,`date`),
 	 INDEX `uid_date` (`uid`,`date`),
 	 INDEX `uid_type_link` (`uid`,`type`,`link`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE notify-threads
@@ -665,7 +665,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `notify-threads` (
 	`parent-item` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`receiver-uid` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE oembed
@@ -676,7 +676,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `oembed` (
 	`created` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`url`),
 	 INDEX `created` (`created`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE parsed_url
@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `parsed_url` (
 	`created` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`url`,`guessing`,`oembed`),
 	 INDEX `created` (`created`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE pconfig
@@ -702,7 +702,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `pconfig` (
 	`v` mediumtext,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 UNIQUE INDEX `uid_cat_k` (`uid`,`cat`,`k`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE photo
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `photo` (
 	 INDEX `uid_album_scale_created` (`uid`,`album`(32),`scale`,`created`),
 	 INDEX `uid_album_resource-id_created` (`uid`,`album`(32),`resource-id`(64),`created`),
 	 INDEX `resource-id` (`resource-id`(64))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE poll
@@ -756,7 +756,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `poll` (
 	`q9` text,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid` (`uid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE poll_result
@@ -768,7 +768,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `poll_result` (
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `poll_id` (`poll_id`),
 	 INDEX `choice` (`choice`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE process
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `process` (
 	`created` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`pid`),
 	 INDEX `command` (`command`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE profile
@@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `profile` (
 	`net-publish` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid_is-default` (`uid`,`is-default`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE profile_check
@@ -842,7 +842,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `profile_check` (
 	`sec` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	`expire` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE push_subscriber
@@ -857,7 +857,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `push_subscriber` (
 	`last_update` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	`secret` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE queue
@@ -876,7 +876,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `queue` (
 	 INDEX `last` (`last`),
 	 INDEX `network` (`network`),
 	 INDEX `batch` (`batch`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE register
@@ -890,7 +890,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `register` (
 	`language` varchar(16) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	`note` text,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE search
@@ -901,7 +901,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `search` (
 	`term` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `uid` (`uid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE session
@@ -914,7 +914,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `session` (
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `sid` (`sid`(64)),
 	 INDEX `expire` (`expire`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE sign
@@ -927,7 +927,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `sign` (
 	`signer` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `iid` (`iid`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE spam
@@ -944,7 +944,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `spam` (
 	 INDEX `spam` (`spam`),
 	 INDEX `ham` (`ham`),
 	 INDEX `term` (`term`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE term
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `term` (
 	 INDEX `uid_otype_type_term_global_created` (`uid`,`otype`,`type`,`term`(32),`global`,`created`),
 	 INDEX `uid_otype_type_url` (`uid`,`otype`,`type`,`url`(64)),
 	 INDEX `guid` (`guid`(64))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE thread
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `thread` (
 	 INDEX `uid_created` (`uid`,`created`),
 	 INDEX `uid_commented` (`uid`,`commented`),
 	 INDEX `uid_wall_created` (`uid`,`wall`,`created`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE tokens
@@ -1020,7 +1020,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `tokens` (
 	`scope` varchar(200) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
 	`uid` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE user
@@ -1071,7 +1071,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user` (
 	`openidserver` text,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`uid`),
 	 INDEX `nickname` (`nickname`(32))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE userd
@@ -1081,7 +1081,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `userd` (
 	`username` varchar(255) NOT NULL,
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`),
 	 INDEX `username` (`username`(32))
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
 --
 -- TABLE workerqueue
@@ -1094,5 +1094,5 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `workerqueue` (
 	`pid` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 	`executed` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0001-01-01 00:00:00',
 	 PRIMARY KEY(`id`)
-) DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
+) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
 
diff --git a/include/dbstructure.php b/include/dbstructure.php
index 406ad6c93d..373d6ddb00 100644
--- a/include/dbstructure.php
+++ b/include/dbstructure.php
@@ -78,8 +78,18 @@ function update_fail($update_id, $error_message){
 function table_structure($table) {
 	$structures = q("DESCRIBE `%s`", $table);
 
+	$full_columns = q("SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `%s`", $table);
+
 	$indexes = q("SHOW INDEX FROM `%s`", $table);
 
+	$table_status = q("SHOW TABLE STATUS WHERE `name` = '%s'", $table);
+
+	if (dbm::is_result($table_status)) {
+		$table_status = $table_status[0];
+	} else {
+		$table_status = array();
+	}
+
 	$fielddata = array();
 	$indexdata = array();
 
@@ -104,7 +114,6 @@ function table_structure($table) {
 
 			$indexdata[$index["Key_name"]][] = $column;
 		}
-
 	if (dbm::is_result($structures)) {
 		foreach ($structures AS $field) {
 			$fielddata[$field["Field"]]["type"] = $field["Type"];
@@ -125,10 +134,16 @@ function table_structure($table) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	return(array("fields"=>$fielddata, "indexes"=>$indexdata));
+	if (dbm::is_result($full_columns)) {
+		foreach ($full_columns AS $column) {
+			$fielddata[$column["Field"]]["Collation"] = $column["Collation"];
+		}
+	}
+
+	return array("fields" => $fielddata, "indexes" => $indexdata, "table_status" => $table_status);
 }
 
-function print_structure($database, $charset) {
+function print_structure($database) {
 	echo "-- ------------------------------------------\n";
 	echo "-- ".FRIENDICA_PLATFORM." ".FRIENDICA_VERSION." (".FRIENDICA_CODENAME,")\n";
 	echo "-- DB_UPDATE_VERSION ".DB_UPDATE_VERSION."\n";
@@ -137,7 +152,7 @@ function print_structure($database, $charset) {
 		echo "--\n";
 		echo "-- TABLE $name\n";
 		echo "--\n";
-		db_create_table($name, $structure['fields'], $charset, true, false, $structure["indexes"]);
+		db_create_table($name, $structure['fields'], true, false, $structure["indexes"]);
 
 		echo "\n";
 	}
@@ -148,13 +163,7 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 
 	if ($action) {
 		Config::set('system', 'maintenance', 1);
-		Config::set('system', 'maintenance_reason', 'Database update');
-	}
-
-	if (isset($a->config["system"]["db_charset"])) {
-		$charset = $a->config["system"]["db_charset"];
-	} else {
-		$charset = "utf8";
+		Config::set('system', 'maintenance_reason', sprintf(t(': Database update'), dbm::date().' '.date('e')));
 	}
 
 	$errors = false;
@@ -168,16 +177,18 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 		$tables = q("SHOW TABLES");
 	}
 
-	foreach ($tables AS $table) {
-		$table = current($table);
+	if (dbm::is_result($tables)) {
+		foreach ($tables AS $table) {
+			$table = current($table);
 
-		logger(sprintf('updating structure for table %s ...', $table), LOGGER_DEBUG);
-		$database[$table] = table_structure($table);
+			logger(sprintf('updating structure for table %s ...', $table), LOGGER_DEBUG);
+			$database[$table] = table_structure($table);
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Get the definition
 	if (is_null($definition)) {
-		$definition = db_definition($charset);
+		$definition = db_definition();
 	}
 
 	// MySQL >= 5.7.4 doesn't support the IGNORE keyword in ALTER TABLE statements
@@ -194,7 +205,7 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 		$group_by = "";
 		$sql3 = "";
 		if (!isset($database[$name])) {
-			$r = db_create_table($name, $structure["fields"], $charset, $verbose, $action, $structure['indexes']);
+			$r = db_create_table($name, $structure["fields"], $verbose, $action, $structure['indexes']);
 			if (!dbm::is_result($r)) {
 				$errors .=  t('Errors encountered creating database tables.').$name.EOL;
 			}
@@ -252,17 +263,25 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 					}
 				} else {
 					// Compare the field definition
-					$current_field_definition = implode(",",$database[$name]["fields"][$fieldname]);
-					$new_field_definition = implode(",",$parameters);
+					$field_definition = $database[$name]["fields"][$fieldname];
+
+					// Define the default collation if not given
+					if (!isset($parameters['Collation']) AND !is_null($field_definition['Collation'])) {
+						$parameters['Collation'] = 'utf8mb4_general_ci';
+					} else {
+						$parameters['Collation'] = null;
+					}
+
+					$current_field_definition = implode(",", $field_definition);
+					$new_field_definition = implode(",", $parameters);
 					if ($current_field_definition != $new_field_definition) {
-						$sql2=db_modify_table_field($fieldname, $parameters);
+						$sql2 = db_modify_table_field($fieldname, $parameters);
 						if ($sql3 == "") {
 							$sql3 = "ALTER" . $ignore . " TABLE `".$temp_name."` ".$sql2;
 						} else {
 							$sql3 .= ", ".$sql2;
 						}
 					}
-
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -288,10 +307,23 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 						$group_by = db_group_by($indexname, $fieldnames);
 					}
 					if ($sql2 != "") {
-						if ($sql3 == "")
+						if ($sql3 == "") {
 							$sql3 = "ALTER" . $ignore . " TABLE `".$temp_name."` ".$sql2;
-						else
+						} else {
 							$sql3 .= ", ".$sql2;
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
+			if (isset($database[$name]["table_status"]["Collation"])) {
+				if ($database[$name]["table_status"]["Collation"] != 'utf8mb4_general_ci') {
+					$sql2 = "DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci";
+
+					if ($sql3 == "") {
+						$sql3 = "ALTER" . $ignore . " TABLE `".$temp_name."` ".$sql2;
+					} else {
+						$sql3 .= ", ".$sql2;
 					}
 				}
 			}
@@ -323,6 +355,8 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 			}
 
 			if ($action) {
+				Config::set('system', 'maintenance_reason', sprintf(t('%s: updating %s table.'), dbm::date().' '.date('e'), $name));
+
 				// Ensure index conversion to unique removes duplicates
 				if ($is_unique) {
 					if ($ignore != "") {
@@ -376,6 +410,10 @@ function update_structure($verbose, $action, $tables=null, $definition=null) {
 function db_field_command($parameters, $create = true) {
 	$fieldstruct = $parameters["type"];
 
+	if (!is_null($parameters["Collation"])) {
+		$fieldstruct .= " COLLATE ".$parameters["Collation"];
+	}
+
 	if ($parameters["not null"])
 		$fieldstruct .= " NOT NULL";
 
@@ -395,7 +433,7 @@ function db_field_command($parameters, $create = true) {
 	return($fieldstruct);
 }
 
-function db_create_table($name, $fields, $charset, $verbose, $action, $indexes=null) {
+function db_create_table($name, $fields, $verbose, $action, $indexes=null) {
 	global $a, $db;
 
 	$r = true;
@@ -420,7 +458,7 @@ function db_create_table($name, $fields, $charset, $verbose, $action, $indexes=n
 
 	$sql = implode(",\n\t", $sql_rows);
 
-	$sql = sprintf("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `%s` (\n\t", dbesc($name)).$sql."\n) DEFAULT CHARSET=".$charset;
+	$sql = sprintf("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `%s` (\n\t", dbesc($name)).$sql."\n) DEFAULT COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci";
 	if ($verbose)
 		echo $sql.";\n";
 
@@ -503,18 +541,7 @@ function db_group_by($indexname, $fieldnames) {
 	return $sql;
 }
 
-function db_index_suffix($charset, $reduce = 0) {
-	if ($charset != "utf8mb4") {
-		return "";
-	}
-
-	// On utf8mb4 indexes can only have a length of 191
-	$indexlength = 191 - $reduce;
-
-	return "(".$indexlength.")";
-}
-
-function db_definition($charset) {
+function db_definition() {
 
 	$database = array();
 
@@ -1658,9 +1685,7 @@ function dbstructure_run(&$argv, &$argc) {
 				set_config('system','build',DB_UPDATE_VERSION);
 				return;
 			case "dumpsql":
-				// For the dump that is used to create the database.sql we always assume utfmb4
-				$charset = "utf8mb4";
-				print_structure(db_definition($charset), $charset);
+				print_structure(db_definition());
 				return;
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/update.php b/update.php
index 4e945d2091..f1117e9b77 100644
--- a/update.php
+++ b/update.php
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 
-define('UPDATE_VERSION' , 1217);
+define('UPDATE_VERSION' , 1218);
 
 /**
  *